%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1338845758058420300%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.%%[[quoteright:300:[[Franchise/SpiderMan http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_spidermancomparison_8228.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:300:In ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'' he's [[OhCrap toast]], and in ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' he's... [[VisualPun toast]].]]

->''"The way I look at it, it's really not jumping the shark if you never come back down."''--> -- '''[[CreatorCameo Chuck]]''' ({{leaning on the fourth wall}} a bit), ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''

The ToneShift that a show goes through when its plots become increasingly exaggerated and cartoonish. Most often happens with shows whose initial premise is mundane, and ostensibly could take place in the real world, begin to gradually take in tropes from more elaborate genre fiction until the show is at a point where it no longer resembles its pilot episode at all. This is similar to CerebusSyndrome, except that instead of working on tone this trope increases the density and zaniness of literal plot elements, often requiring a greater WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief and viewer concentration level in order to succeed.

This trope is typically used as a ratings grab. For a show that's losing appeal, it's much easier to instantly come up with wacky plot elements than it is to invest time in more complex character nuance. As with much ExecutiveMeddling, this motivation doesn't exactly have much basis in reality -- most LongRunners either don't undergo this process at all, or do so only when they're about to be canceled. Oftentimes, fans appreciate good consistency in tone.

Shows up fairly often in adaptation, particularly {{Animated Adaptation}}s, as this is an easy way to demonstrate how a show is different from its parent program.

If the author takes advantage of established series elements that have gathered over time, then it's ContinuityCreep.

Often a reason for JumpingTheShark, or, in some cases, GrowingTheBeard.

Compare LighterAndSofter, ReverseCerebusSyndrome, KudzuPlot.

Contrast DarkerAndEdgier.----!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]* This happened to manga works of Fujio Akatsuka a lot. His comics such as ''Osomatsu Kun'', ''Moretsu Ataro'', and ''Tensai Bakabon'' were always comedic (although ''Ataro'' was originally more dramatic), but they both started out as being down to earth, but gradually became more and more insane with nonsensical, slapstick-heavy gags. In addition, this happened when all three promoted a BreakoutCharacter and eventually pushed the main characters aside.* ''Franchise/LupinIII'': The art style of the Anime/LupinIIIPinkJacket series is this to the rest of the franchise. It says something when a character who is known for being just this side of possible evokes an "are they smoking something?" feel. While the plots are no weirder than in the past, the new 1980's style of drawing the characters makes a lot of fans give up before the character designs become more consistent later in the show. * An In-Universe example from ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' is the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, a Toon version of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Seto Kaiba was not amused to have Pegasus turn his trademark monster into an animated abomination with {{Popeye}} biceps. There's also Toon Summoned Skull, which is somehow even creepier than the original, especially when it gets flirtatious.** The Kaiba Corp Grand Prix filler arc, compared to the other filler arcs, and even the canon ones, which generally had little to no wackiness whatsoever. Not to mention that this was fresh off of the [[CerebusRollercoaster more serious]] DOMA filler arc. Also, how can you take a [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Forest_Wolf NON-ANTHROPOMORPHIC WOLF]] [[Literature/LittleRedRidingHood dressed in old lady clothes]] that attacks by ''[[SwallowedWhole eating the opponent's monster in one bite]]'' seriously?** ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL''. [[DarkerAndEdgier At first.]]* The ''Anime/CarnivalPhantasm'' OVA takes almost every character from two of the most violent and depressing sagas in the HGame industry and puts them into a zany and comedic GagSeries. The results are [[CaptainObvious very funny]], partly [[TropesAreNotBad because of the dissonance]].* The ''Manga/BlackCat'' manga started out with its deviations from "realism" being mostly limited to creative liberties taken with gun use--then the plots got more and more convoluted, and by the end science with downright supernatural effects was commonplace.* This is the main reason some people get turned off by ''Anime/SamuraiFlamenco''. It starts out as a slice of life. After episode 7, being a {{Tokusatsu}} hero becomes SeriousBusiness.* ''{{Anime/Pokemon}}'' has become this during Advance Generation, in Team Rocket's case.** But the whole series took a nosedive with this in Best Wishes.* Compare ''Manga/DeathNote'''s [[{{Omake}} "Yonkoma"]] to the series proper. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Comics]]* An in-universe example in the comic series ''{{Supreme}}''. A comic book writer has acquired powers based on one's personality. Supreme points out that he's a ''British'' comic book writer, and he'll just grow more and more complex until he becomes a convoluted mess. This was likely a TakeThat directed at the trend of British comic book writers who tried to create complex story lines that just didn't stop. ([[SelfDeprecation Such as]] Creator/AlanMoore.)* ''{{Marville}}'' has an example that's weird because the increased wackiness is the result of the comic ''[[CerebusSyndrome trying to be serious and philosophical]]''. The first two issues are a ShallowParody of comic books. From the third to fifth, the protagonists [[GoingCosmic travel back in time looking after God]], and then with someone who might be Him witness the origins of life, dinosaurs and primitive humans (with the first man being {{Wolverine}}) while spewing [[HollywoodScience nonsensical "science"]]. * The two issues of ''ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesAdventures'' written and illustrated by Milton Knight, they're more cartoony, bizarre, and surreal compared to most of the other issues, the art is like the Fred Wolf cartoon as if it were animated by ''Creator/JohnKricfalusi'' and ''Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer''.* ''ComicBook/BigTroubleInLittleChina'' is this compared to the movie. There's more of an emphasis on the comedy aspects of the story, Jack Burton is less StraightMan and more TheFool, the {{Masquerade}} is [[ExtraStrengthMasquerade so paper thin that it seems everyone must be idiots for not noticing that magic and monsters are all around them]], and Jack is able to screw with and get the better of the villains much more easily.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]* What do you get when you give [[MostFanficWritersAreGirls bunch of fangirls access to the Internet?]] A whole lot of {{Crack Fic}}s.* In terms of ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' fanfiction, any incarnation of "A Fanfic By Ed" (which were all over a few [=EEnE=] fan-sites before they were taken down at the moment) qualifies as such CrackFic[=tion=], because [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin these are fanfics written by]] [[CloudCuckoolander Ed]]. Said fanfics have Ed make several crossovers, [[VideoGame/SuperMario Bowser]] eating somebody (usually [[UsefulNotes/McDonalds Ronald McDonald]]), random characters saying "Play something else, kids! [X] is a bad man!" and "Poof!", and Eddy or an AuthorAvatar telling Ed to stop the fanfic. [[http://web.archive.org/web/20050414021734/http://www.edtropolis.com/fanfic/pg/pg5/eddfix-401.htm Here's an example]].* ''Fanfic/TotalDramaReturns'' is stuffed to the gills with ridiculously over-the-top {{Flanderization}}, gratuitous fourth-wall breaking, insane amounts of RefugeInAudacity and so many running gags it's impossible to count them all. [[HilarityEnsues And we wouldn't have it any other way.]] * The ''Fanfic/MegsFamilySeries'', [[CaptainObvious which was a Meg-centric]] ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' fanfic that lasted from 2007 to 2010, was almost entirely faithful to the show's run at the time. As soon as Meg and [[LoveInterest Zack]]'s daughter Maddie is born, several storylines became chock-full of elements regarding this trope, such as Maddie's future self being an ActionGirl, an entire chapter centered around the tank from the episode ''Hell Comes to Quahog'', Peter and Zack switching minds, and a [[Literature/CHRIStine Corvette]] that [[{{Yandere}} becomes obsessed with Peter and tries to kill Lois]].* ''[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/75459 TehPenguinz]]'' is a VideoGame/ClubPenguin fanfic which is this taken to the point of InNameOnly. The story centers on the conflict between the "Espi", a group of electrical techno-mages, and "Tyce's Gang". "Donut's Clan" is a third, much less plot-important entity which seems to encompass everything which actually exists in canon. The story contains, in no particular order, magic gateways to other worlds, a legion of "pwnage kittens", a number of magical guinea pigs, what is implied to be some kind of FantasticNuke, and an exceedingly bizarre LayeredWorld system. Yet it somehow all started with Club Penguin...?* ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'' is a (mostly) DarkerAndEdgier variant of this. The first few chapters have plenty of whacky moments, and a few more strewn through the rest of the story. It is near ridiculously dense.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]* ''WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTailFievelGoesWest'' most definitely qualifies this trope, from what you can tell from the rubbery animation to any of [[PluckyComicRelief Tiger's]] scenes, both courtesy of Creator/{{Amblimation}} [[note]]The only film they made that was an exception to this trope was ''{{Balto}}''[[/note]]. Starkly different from the first movie, which was a musical adventure about hard times (i.e. immigration, separation, and a war between mice and cats). * The ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' film series. The first two movies had a lot of comedy and their share of silly moments, but they didn't go too over the top. The plots were fairly serious and believable enough (well, as believable as one could get in a movie about talking animals). Starting with "Dawn of the Dinosaurs", however, they have become this. * Creator/DreamWorksAnimation began as Jeffery Katzenberg's serious attempt to compete with Disney, putting out some very edgy films like ''WesternAnimation/ThePrinceOfEgypt'', ''{{WesternAnimation/Antz}}'' and, in collaboration with Aardman, ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun''. As soon as the self-referential, potty-mouthed and pop-culture heavy ''{{WesternAnimation/Shrek}}'' became a mega SleeperHit, DreamWorks completely did away with the heavy stuff (as well as their traditional animation unit) and spent the better part of TheAughties making the same movie over and over. Recently, they've attempted to remedy this with more sophisticated films like ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'' and ''WesternAnimation/RiseOfTheGuardians'', but ''{{WesternAnimation/Turbo}}'' proves that old habits die hard.* ''{{Disney/Tangled}}'' had a follow up short ''Disney/TangledEverAfter'', which was 7 minutes of mostly slapstick, where the original spread out the slapstick over the longer running time.* ''{{Disney/Frozen}}'s'' follow up ''Disney/FrozenFever'' was a lot sillier than the source film, especially given the consequences of Elsa's powers this time causes mischief instead of danger.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* After the first two ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' movies, Creator/SylvesterStallone took over as director, leading to ''Rocky III'' and especially ''Rocky IV''. The third movie had Rocky fighting Mr. T ''and'' HulkHogan, while the fourth one starts with [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext a robot at Paulie's birthday party]]. Then the series got serious again.* The third ''Film/TheNeverendingStory'' film lacked the whimsy of the first two movies, had absolutely no dramatic weight to it, and the antagonist was, instead of a legitimately threatening menace, Creator/JackBlack as the leader of a gang of bullies. However, this movie isn't canon to the original book like the previous installments (each adapts a different half of the book).* ''Film/Piranha3D'' was definitely a tongue in cheek horror B-Movie but relatively little of it was played for outright comedy; ''Film/Piranha3DD'' on the other hand has a lot more jokes and a lot fewer scares.* The ''[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious Fast and the Furious]]'' series. ''The Fast and the Furious'' was pretty much a straight cop drama that revolved around the world of street racing. Starting with ''2 Fast 2 Furious'', the focus shifted to the cars themselves, to the point where ''Tokyo Drift'' was almost entirely about the racing. Then, with ''Fast and Furious'', it took ''another'' change in tone, this time becoming an over the top action flick, while ''Fast 5'' somehow took it even further to the point where it was just another completely absurd action movie that's closer to something like ''Film/TheTransporter''. Certainly a far cry from the first movie's original cop drama format.* ''DieHard'' had John [=McClane=] going from "everyman action hero [[DieHardOnAnX trapped with baddies]]" to "MadeOfIron action hero wrecking havoc in various places". It gets even worse in the fifth movie, which goes to Russia and barely gives room for John to be a DeadpanSnarker.* The ''Bowery Boys'' movies went from gritty urban melodramas with a substantial dose of comedy to broad and outlandish slapstick adventures with plenty of AppliedPhlebotinum.* The supernatural killer from the first ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' film was named just ''Fred'' Krueger, and was taciturn, creepy and imposing. In the sequels he became known as Freddy and turned at first darkly comedic and then just comedic, killing his victims in increasingly zany and bizarre ways (the top was probably using the Power Glove to kill a kid turned into a videogame), and acting much more like a cruel jokester.* The ''Film/{{Emmanuelle}}'' soft-core film franchise started off being based upon an autobiographical book, but later became increasingly wacky, with plots including extreme plastic surgery, time travel, and cannibals. They even made ''Emmanuelle [[RecycledInSpace in Space]]''.* The original ''Film/{{Anchorman}}'' was pretty silly, with its lampooning of local news, 70's related gags and the brawl between the News Teams. The sequel, ''Film/{{Anchorman 2}}'', cranks it UpToEleven, including a subplot involving Ron Burgundy adopting a pet Shark after [[spoiler:being blinded]] to the final battle which includes a [[spoiler:soul sucking Stonewall Jackson]] and [[spoiler:Harrison Ford turning into a were-hyena]]. Needless to say, this trope was in full force with this sequel.* The first Manga/{{Guyver}} film adaptation is a bizarre half-example. There were clearly two conflicting visions for the movie: one as a straight adaptation of the very dark and violent source material, and one as a more lighthearted, slapstick-y adaptation geared towards children. The result is a film that would regularly and awkwardly transition from violent deaths to goofy slapstick with cartoony music.* ''Film/TheBluesBrothers2000'' compared to the original ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'', while the original was an over the top comedy it was far more realistic than the the sequel which featured undead horse riders flying through the air during a musical number, a voodoo priestess who turns several soldiers and police officers into rats, and the band temporarily turning into zombies.* ''Film/{{Sharknado}}'' was already a wacky movie, from the silly premise to the cheesy characters and acting and the over-the-top ways they killed off both humans and sharks. But ''Film/Sharknado2TheSecondOne'' takes it even further, with ridiculous celebrity cameos, the folks at Creator/TheWeatherChannel giving straight-faced reports on the shark storm, the hero of the first film becoming a MemeticBadass who at one point ends up [[spoiler:sucked into the Sharknado and forced to chainsaw through the sharks in midair]], and an even greater [[HurricaneOfPuns Sharknado of Puns]].* While previous installments in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse had their moments of wackiness, ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' is almost entirely consisted of odd and crazy set-pieces. It does have its moments of seriousness, but overall the film does not take itself too seriously. Having a talking raccoon as one of the leads tends to do that.* Compared to ''Film/MazesAndMonsters'', ''{{Film/Skullduggery}}'' is pretty much this for the Anti-D&D films. Where as Mazes and Monsters presents the protagonist's tabletop gaming-induced madness like an actual psychosis, Skullduggery instead says "turns out this guy was the reincarnation of this warlock and a creepy magician dude had him remember his past life". From there, it just gets [[MindScrew crazier]], from [[RunningGag a janitor with a tic-tac-toe game on his back]], a nurse who tries to come onto the protagonist, and a bunch of quirky characters. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* The ''Literature/TalesOfTheCity'' series started off being very slice-of-life. The most outlandish things in the original book were D'orothea's efforts to [[spoiler:pose as a black woman]] and the [[spoiler:pedophilic]] private eye. The second book, in contrast, had [[spoiler:a cannibal cult]]. And then the third book had one of the main characters having a sexual encounter with a real-life closeted movie star (whose name was thus left blank) and a plot involving [[spoiler:Reverend Jim Jones]].* ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'''s mission was to push the envelope on stories that could be told in novel form, but none did it quite like the novel "Sky Pirates!" which even replaced the usual blurb with:-->''Stories deeper, wider, firmer, plumper, perkier, yellower, crispier and with more incredible bad jokes than you can shake a stick at, the New Adventures take the TARDIS into previously unexplored realms of taste and stupidity''. * Similarly, the ''Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures'' started off full of lush gothic horror and realistic drama. By book five, they started suddenly retconning the TV series and getting a bit... odd. By book six, all realism was unceremoniously thrown out the window and the novels collectively became ''insane''. [[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action Television]]* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' flip flops this trope. While the show pulls no punches in reminding you how crapsack it is it also has its wacky moments when a breather episode comes up. Like when Sam and Dean were hunting a MonsterOfTheWeek pretending to be Dracula. While in full black and white. Then the Channel Chasers episode.* ''Series/HappyDays'': The actual shark-jumping episode is a good example. Picture the premise of the show -- how the Cunningham family was so gosh-darn swell back in the fifties. Now, reconcile that image with [[EnsembleDarkhorse Fonzie]] water-skiing over sharks to overcome his fear of them, and you can see how JumpingTheShark became a TropeNamer.* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' became this once Larry David resigned from writing duties after Season Seven. The plots became more cartoonish and fast-paced, the characters became even MORE [[UpToEleven jerkish and self-centered]], and the humor was less subtle. A good example of how much the show changed in its last two seasons is the S8 episode "The Bizarro Jerry", which centers on Elaine hanging out with somebody who's ''literally'' Jerry's exact opposite, Jerry dating a woman with the hands of a man, and George concocting a manipulative-even-for-him scheme to get into an exclusive women's club.* ''Series/FamilyMatters'' starts out as a mundane sitcom, but succumbed to this trope as a result of Steve Urkel, who got initially got into plots with his suave, handsome, scientifically induced alter ego Stefan until the end of the series featured him traveling into [[RecycledINSPACE space]]. Steve Urkel being the harbinger of these changes was likely incidental, since an ExtravertedNerd does not require fantastic elements in order to function.** The down to earth family sitcom ended with genetic engineering, cloning, and teleportation being regular elements of the plot.* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' started off as a WagonTrainToTheStars that was only slightly wackier than usual, but from the last few episodes of the first season the writers really started pushing the boat out both in terms of CerebusSyndrome and in how crazy the situations they put the characters into became. Among mainstream TV shows, it's probably rivalled only by the ''Series/DoctorWho'' franchise for how close canon episodes got to what are usually CrackFic concepts. And it mostly did this while still keeping the stories emotionally significant.** Actually, by WordOfGod ''Farscape'' was intended to be an ''anti-Franchise/StarTrek'', so less WagonTrainToTheStars and more like ''TheRealWorld'' [[RecycledInSpace in SPACE!]]. The dysfunction was written in from the start, and much of the increasing craziness was a result of the writers testing just how far they could push the boundaries.* ''[[Series/TheOfficeUS The Office]]'' in the USA rolls with this, though not quite as badly as some other shows. The first two seasons (really the first season, but what was technically the first season was stunted), portrayed a fairly realistic day-to-day workplace with a PointyHairedBoss, who, while on the extreme of what should be firing offenses, was fairly realistic in his incompetence, but later seasons saw a more ironclad ContractualImmortality take place for many characters, especially Ryan, Michael, Dwight, and (in one case) Meredith.* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' began as a sort of office comedy interspliced with Clark's super heroics. Though the main duo stayed more or less grounded in domestic reality, their surroundings became more akin to the silver age comics, with wacky villains, time travel, magic and clones galore.* ''{{Series/Smallville}}'' followed a similar path in its later run: Whereas the show's first half focused on sleepy Americana life being confronted by ''X-Files'' weirdness (even featuring a show called "X-Styles" with disgraced muckraker Perry White), the second half was very much in tune with the comics.... Though some of its takes on the classic DCU characters was pretty dark and violent.* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' became this once the second season rolled around, with one episode focusing on Al going to extremes to kill a mouse. The shift in tone became more noticeable as soon as Jefferson marries Marcy after Steve left her, and stays that way for the rest of the series.* The last 2 seasons of ''Series/FullHouse'' had several subplots that fell into this trope, i.e. the guys hawking Jesse's new invention that keeps hair out of someone's face, the family getting addicted to Michelle's new SuperNES game, Jesse trying to keep his blood pressure down even though there's an ostrich in Kimmy Gibbler's yard, etc.* The TV adaptation of ''Series/HoneyIShrunkTheKids'' is much denser and wackier than [[Film/HoneyIShrunkTheKids the original movie]], with stuff such as talking about foot odor, [[BizarreAlienBiology aliens that eat with their butts]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking clowns]].* ''Series/ThirtyRock'' gets sillier with each season. Back in the pilot, Jack's official job title being "Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming" was about the only especially unrealistic aspect of the show. Now SurrealHumor in the form of weird, off-the-wall stuff (up to and including having one character be literally immortal) is a regular feature of the series, and convoluted, interrelated multi-episode arcs are common...[[TropesAreNotBad and the series widely accepted to be much better for it]].--> '''Jack''': ''(referring to the Obama-Romney election)'' Pennsylvania is Obama's. The voting machines there have become sentient, and are strongly in favor of gay marriage.* ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' got like this in season 7, especially when you compare it to [[CerebusSyndrome the more serious]] season 6. While it had several serious episodes and some realistic plotlines, it also had a lot of convoluted and wacky plotlines, especially the Jack and Eric ones. For example one plotline involved Eric gaining the ability to see into the future whenever he sneezes and Jack trying to use this power to win the lottery. Luckily, this was the show's final season.* ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' had two: ''Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger'' and ''Series/EngineSentaiGoonger'', both which were car-themed AffectionateParody seasons.* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' did this right — after a first season that was very well-written, but quiet, sensible, slow-moving, and rather ''Series/{{Cheers}}''-ish in style, the second season amped the show up into a full-blown theatrical {{Farce}} and perfected its trademark blend of ludicrously overblown plots, highbrow wit, and slapstick, which it marinated in (and scooped many, many Emmys for) until it started losing momentum in season nine.* Happened in ''Series/DoctorWho'', but so long ago that it's basically been forgotten. The EdutainmentShow stuff is pretty much gone; Series 6 alone featured clones, an IAmYourFather twist, memory loss, dinosaurs in modern London and space pirates.** Not that it took long. The ''second'' serial was [[ScaryDogmaticAliens "The Daleks"]].** The difference between William Hartnell's period and Patrick Troughton's period is this - Troughton's portrayal of the Doctor went from TheWonka into TheMadHatter, the show dropped the more realistic "pure historical" and hard sci-fi story formats to concentrate on monsters, and (due to it being TheSixties) elements of psychedelia began to influence the show more prominently - particularly apparent in "The Krotons" and "The Mind Robber". CerebusRollercoaster also enhanced the wackiness, because although the Doctor was now a lot sillier and PlayedForLaughs more of the time, pure {{horror}} serials became a lot more common - the First Doctor only had three in his whole tenure (the very short {{Bottle Episode}}s "The Edge of Destruction" and "Mission to the Unknown", and his very last story, "The Tenth Planet"), but just under half of the Second Doctor's stories were horror.** Another example was the period in the mid-to-late 1970s where due to a combination of having [[NoBudget even less budget than usual]], constant BBC strikes, the LargeHam lead actor Creator/TomBaker being allowed to do whatever the hell he wanted, a [[Creator/DouglasAdams script editor]] who loved SurrealHumour and would constantly add it into everything he touched, and MoralGuardians cracking down on the usual ''Doctor Who'' strategy for generating horror cheaply ({{Gorn}} and screaming) all led to two seasons of [[{{Camp}} truly demented monster ideas]] that were selected by cost-effectivity and [[FirstLawOfTragicomedies a tone the press at the time found too flippant to make you care about anyone, but too dark to be funny]]. Though one of the stories made during this period ("City of Death") is considered to be one of the best, if not ''the'' best ever Classic ''Doctor Who'' story.** Nu-Who - Season 5, the first season with the Eleventh Doctor, was more comprehensible and [[LighterAndSofter lighter-hearted]] to a child audience than the later seasons of the Tenth Doctor. But in Season 6, this trope hit in full force, the whole season being an extremely convoluted time travel paradox [[AnArc arc]] centering around very un-child-friendly topics like pregnancy BodyHorror, the sex life of a character's parents, and the Doctor getting married to a woman who had met him long after he had already met her (TimeyWimeyBall). Season 7 dialed it back a bit, though not as far as Eleven's tenure started out.* ''Series/UglyBetty'' became a full-blown farce starting about Series 3 and the ratings plummeted.* ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' started to do this, after a fashion, in Series 2. While Series 1 was a fairly light-hearted Edwardian Comedy Of Manners, the second series featured all kinds of SoapOpera elements, including a murder frame-up, interlocking love triangles, miraculous recovery from horrific injuries, and all manner of other bizarre occurrences. Semi-justified in that Series 2 is set during and immediately after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI--life was strange then.* The first few episodes of ''Series/{{Community}}'' were fairly textbook sitcom material, but over the course of the first season the absurdity was played up. The second season turns this trope on full blast, and the third, [[BaseBreaker controversially]], turned it UpToEleven.* ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'' would come into mind. ''Franchise/KamenRider'' shows before it are generally [[DarkerAndEdgier more serious in tone]]. * ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' started out mostly grounded sitcom, with only a few really overly silly elements, and as it went on roughly around season 2-3 just started to become a lot more over the top and cartoonish, also intentionally banking on the UnreliableNarrator elements to show things Ted were describing in-universe as a lot more outlandish than they actually were. Some fans feel that the more recent seasons may have taken things a bit too far though.* ''Series/NightCourt'' increasingly became more fueled by jokes than by plot.* ''Series/{{Friends}}'' gradually became this after the Ross/Rachel breakup in S3. The characters became more cartoonish, the plots became sillier (particularly those involving Joey and Ross), and drama was significantly cut down. By S6, the show had more-or-less completed its transformation from "off beat sitcom about six 20-something New Yorkers trying to get by in life" to "fast-paced sitcom about six buffoonish New Yorkers acting silly/goofy for 30 minutes."* Played with in ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}''. Many of the artifacts had terrible consequences, and they were never unwilling to be serious. However, some of the artifacts started to become even more and more silly as time went on, among them an artifact that traps people inside a Mexican Soap Opera, Walt Disney's pen, and an artifact that summons a bunch of dancing showgirls that chase down people (while singing and dancing.) * Worked pretty well for ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'' of all things. The initial series was pretty macabre and made for somewhat uncomfortable viewing. Later series became much less serious, portraying the victims as buffoonish [[AcceptableTarget acceptable targets]] like stoners, narcissists and perverts and having many over-the-top elements to make the tone more comedic.* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' started as a very subdued SliceOfLife medical sitcom, more similar to shows like ''Series/TheRoyleFamily'' and ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' with the nominal gimick that the lead character narrated his life. Over time it transitioned into a more standard American sitcom and then into something almost as wacky as ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'' went this route. The drawing style was always cartoonish, but in the early years the characters and storylines were well-grounded in reality. Starting in the '90s, the style of humor became increasingly cartoonish and all traces of realism vanished.* ''ComicStrip/{{Candorville}}'': This is probably better than CerebusSyndrome as a description of what's happened. Formerly a slow-paced ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}'' clone with a bit of MagicalRealism thrown in, it's introduced vampires, soul-eating demons, and at least two factions competing to rule the world--but even now that characters are getting killed, the whole thing is still PlayedForLaughs.* Round about the 1960s ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' started introducing a ton of sci-fi elements including "Moon People". Once original author Chester Gould left the strip, they were quickly written out. The only remnant of the era Honeymoon Tracy, the daughter of the Moon Queen and Dick's adopted son, Junior Tracy, is still around, but [[BroadStrokes we don't talk about who mom was]]. In 2013 creative team Joe Staton and Mike Curtis reintroduced Moon Maid via CloningBlues. The other moon people are gone, though, their city in ruins.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* Though the first ''VideoGame/SeriousSam'' wasn't exactly serious to begin it with, it still had a ''relatively'' realistic art-style and cartoonish but not that out-there StandardFPSGuns. Then came ''Serious Sam II'', which had things like a world based on fairy tales, a kamikaze parrot as a weapon and [[YouDontLookLikeYou redesigned]] the hero to make him more cartoonish. However, the third game went DarkerAndEdgier.* The creators of ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' realized that if they wanted their FirstPersonShooter to be memorable and stand out from other similar games, like ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'', they would have to drastically distance themselves from the feel of the first game, and take absolutely nothing seriously. [[TropesAreNotBad It worked.]]** Done in-game after the Pyromania update with the Pyro. Any of the new items for the Pyro, or anyone wearing the pyrovision goggles, shows that the Pyro sees their weapons as handing out rainbows, sparkles and bubbles. People laugh as they lay down to take naps while covered in dancing colors, and the landscape (of certain maps) filled with lollipops and happy clouds.* The original ''VideoGame/EarthwormJim'' was already wacky, but its sequel went off the deep end - for example, its third level featured Jim as a cave salamander floating through a pinball bumper- and pencil-studded intestine while shooting inflated sheep on his way to a [[InsaneTrollLogic nonsensical]] game show at the level's end. Thankfully, it actually [[SurrealHumor worked]]. After that, ''Earthworm Jim 3D'' on the N64 (developed by a different team) descended into infantile "random" gags and ''VideoGame/{{Bubsy}} the Bobcat''-quality puns.* ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', compared to some of Sonic's [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog more]] [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006 recent]] [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed titles]], is definitely more cartoony and surreal in its plot and dialogue.** ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', while not as dense or wacky as ''Colors'', is still obviously denser and wackier than the other Sonic games.** To a certain extent, ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed''. While still relatively serious, the game took a very lighthearted turn in comparison to previous games, with the addition of Chip, a lot more comic relief, more cartoony cutscenes and humans designed to look more like they came out of a Pixar movie.** ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' is probably the most JustForFun/{{egregious}} example, being much lighter than [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure its darker,]] [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 more serious predecessors.]]* ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' has a variant, in that its plot stays the same - serious, but with comedic bits tossed in. With each installment, however, the weapons get more insane - the second featured things like a lightsaber made from jewels and a flashlight, to chainsaws strapped to boat paddles, to an electric wheelchair with machine guns. The third game allows you to make your own death-machine vehicle. The ''Dead Rising 3'' DLC announced in Summer 2014, Super Ultra Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix Hyper Edition EX Plus Alpha, seems to be shooting straight for the highest density of wackiness possible, allowing for four-player co-op gameplay and parodying just about everything that's ever had to do with Capcom, including CapcomSequelStagnation, with a lack of seriousness that wouldn't be too out of place in ''Saints Row IV'' (see below).* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' started off as just a slightly wackier ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' clone about gang warfare, but its second installment [[DerivativeDifferentiation began introducing]] outlandish minigames like streaking naked, driving a sewage truck spraying gunk everywhere to devalue property, riding a quad while on fire, and so on. The third game goes ''completely'' nuts, with a cyberspace level, futuristic VTOL jets and hoverbikes, a vehicle that sucks people up and shoots them out of a cannon, zombies, and so on. The fourth game takes it UpToEleven by featuring an alien invasion, superpowers that would make [[VideoGame/{{Prototype}} Alex Mercer]] weep with envy, weaponized dubstep and the main character becoming the President of United States. The preorder DLC pack includes patriotic hardware such as an eagle shaped jet and the [[SwissArmyGun "all guns in one"]] weapon.* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert'' started out as a more grounded in reality World War Two-based version of [[CommandAndConquerTiberianSeries The Tiberian Series.]] Then we had ''Red Alert 2'', which introduced mind control, flying saucers, a giant brain in a tank, attack dolphins and giant squid. ''Red Alert 3'' just drops ''any'' idea of being serious and adds in a IFV that launches infantry out of a cannon, [[BearsAreBadNews Attack Bears]] also launchable from the same IFV, {{Animeland}} Japan with giant mechs, [[BatmanAndRobin the Mister Freeze Corps]], magnetic satellites, S.H.R.I.N.K. beams, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and]] [[GeorgeTakei Emperor Takei]]. Oh ''my''!* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':** ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' was a relatively subdued action movie, with some sci-fi elements and a pinch of ridiculous comedy. The action, sci-fi and humour was all generally done more obviously and with more verve in ''VideoGame/MetalGear2'', which added political subtext to the mix. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' added supernatural elements, like psychics and ghosts, that are just accepted as part of the universe of the games. By ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'', outrageously complicated conspiracy antics and vampires become involved, and every boss in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'' has some kind of supernatural power (and explodes after being killed). By ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' the setting is pure sci-fi, ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' has Turing Test-passing AI, magic, singing tanks, dinosaur-like monsters [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and mp3 players]] in 1974 and ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' replaces the hangover of relatively subdued violence for completely stylised over the top ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}''-esque antics.** GaidenGame ''VideoGame/MetalGearAcid'' is, like it says on the title, ''Metal Gear'' [[ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs on acid]]. It's actually not that ''much'' weirder, but is a GenreShift to [[FightLikeACardPlayer card-based]] StrategyRPG (in gameplay) and exaggerates the supernatural elements in the plot to almost GothicHorror levels (making use of JekyllAndHyde, {{Technically Living Zombie}}s, {{Mad Scientist}}s, FairyTale elements, tragic kidnapped pale little girls with PsychicPowers, {{Creepy Doll}}s, and lots of PsychologicalHorror). The character design shows a distinctly more outrageous, {{Animesque}} aesthetic than the main series (especially Teliko's CostumeExaggeration of Snake's Sneaking Suit). * Like wise the ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' games started out as a relatively restrained and realistic war time era shooter but grew more outlandish over time with the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' and ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps Black Ops]]'' spin offs moving the setting into the near future and the inclusion of the Nazi Zombies bonus mode which well... has VideoGame/NaziZombies.** An IGN [[http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/11/11/call-of-duty-the-original-and-the-best article]] even says something in the likes of this for why the franchise would be FirstInstallmentWins. The original employed a understated "docudrama" style, with realism and putting the player in historical battles while "work[ing] hard to make sure you felt like a small part of a bigger story, like the proverbial CannonFodder you really were." The current CashCowFranchise goes for instead an overblown [[TestosteronePoisoning macho]] SummerBlockbuster starring characters that wouldn't be out of place in an eighties action film.* Koei's ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' and ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors'' have gotten like this. The launch titles for the "Musou" games, as they're known in Japan, mostly focused on basic armed combat on foot and some mounted combat, featuring entirely reasonable costume design. Come later titles, however, attacks have gotten flashier, new, supernatural abilities have been introduced, and costumes have gotten more absurd. ''Strikeforce'' is possibly one of the weirdest incarnations of the Dynasty Warriors series thanks to the introduction of what can only be described as [[SuperMode powered up super modes for every character in the game]]. The two series arguably met a mutual crescendo of denser and wackier with the ''VideoGame/WarriorsOrochi'' series, which takes the concept of both MassivelyMultiplayerCrossover and LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters and ramps them both UpToEleven. It has also taken on shades of CrisisCrossover as of ''Warriors Orochi 3''.* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' is considerably wackier than [[VideoGame/{{Borderlands}} the original]], which was more of an IndecisiveParody until the DLC came out. As a good example of just how not-seriously the game takes itself, there's a quest called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Shoot This Guy in the Face"]]. Overlaps with DarkerAndEdgier, however, given how much of the wackiness is undiluted BlackComedy.* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 1}}'', like others here, wasn't the most serious of games, but ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' took it UpToEleven with the wackiness factor. ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' toned down the humor with Bethesda handling it (but still had its odd moments), only for it to return in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''. * ''VideoGame/TheSims'' was a typical life simulator with a little humour. Expansion packs added oddities like genies and zombies, and this eventually escalated into a full-on WorldOfWeirdness with ''The Sims 2'' and its expansions.** Furthermore, most of the weirdness is contained within the expansion packs, meaning that a given copy of any of the games will start out as (relatively) normal, and will then accumulate supernatural elements as the player installs additional expansions.* ''VideoGame/AlanWake'', a psychological horror thriller, had a downloadable sequel subtitled ''American Nightmare'', which added more emphasis on gunplay, contained a hammy villain, and time travel shenanigans. It's justified in the fact that the plot (and enemy) come straight out of Alan Wake's old, [[StylisticSuck crappy]] grindhouse horrors and sci-fi horror. It's best described as Tarantino and Stephen King hanging out.* ''VideoGame/FarCry3BloodDragon'' took the (mostly) serious gameplay from the ''FarCry'' franchise and turned it into an AffectionateParody of all 80's movies.* Not that the ''{{Franchise/Rayman}}'' series was serious to begin with, but the second game was DarkerAndEdgier than the first. ''3'' went back to being dense and wacky, then went beyond dense and wacky with ''Origins'' and ''Legends''.* The ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series exemplifies this trope in that the first games involved fairly realistic (or at least familiar) premises: a carpenter trying to rescue his girlfriend from a gorilla (''VideoGame/DonkeyKong''), then a plumber clearing animals out of the sewer pipes (''VideoGame/MarioBros''), then a demolition crew tearing down a building (''VideoGame/WreckingCrew''). ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' made this premise a little more epic and strange in that it's a princess being rescued from a bunch of turtle sorcerers, and it involves a journey across eight worlds, but it's still fairly straightforward. ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' made each world wildly different from the others and added more powerups, and since then each Mario game seems to try to outdo the last in scale and zaniness, to the point of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' which has the plumber soaring through space and jumping from planet to planet.* When you get into the Seraphic Gate in ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume'', the game hits the SillinessSwitch and cranks it UpToEleven. * ''VisualNovel/DanganRonpa'' had a relatively mundane setting, with everyone being trapped in a large high school, and relatively few plot elements that could be considered bizarre and out-there. Come ''VisualNovel/SuperDanganRonpa2'', suddenly everyone's trapped on a series of tropical islands guarded by giant robots [[spoiler: and one character gets transformed into a robot himself]], the trial room is reached via a giant Monokuma version of Mt. Rushmore, and Monokuma himself has a sidekick to serve as a comedic foil against (in theory, at least.) The executions were pretty silly and full of BlackComedy before, but in this game they went completely insane, including deep-frying people in active volcanoes and rocketing them into space on a giant rocket arm. The plot is still serious, but the setting is far more outlandish. [[spoiler: Which makes sense when you find out it's all a VR simulation.]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]* ''VisualNovel/GrisaiaNoKajitsu'' started off as a pretty grounded romance visual novel with only a few hints of oddities like a bit about cellular memory being a plot device and Yuuji's often hinted job as a black ops agent. The sequel even retconned away the cellular memory thing when the writers realized it was a discredited theory. However, ''VisualNovel/GrisaiaNoRakuen'' contains super soldiers, super serums, cloning, brain uploading and artificial arms [[spoiler:though it turns out the latter two were actually lies. Kazuki is connected to the Thanatos computer system rather than it being formed around an uploaded version of her brain and the artificial arm was just a really tasteless joke.]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]* ''Webcomic/{{Roomies}}'' was never exactly down-to-Earth and serious to begin with but nevertheless dealt with fairly realistic personal issues, went this route with the introduction of the Aliens.* ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'' slides from gentle, mildly complicated antics into [[WorldOfWeirdness utter, ultra-convoluted chaos]]. Some fans consider the change to be where it GrowsTheBeard.** The author's next series, ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', started with this trope as a goal and succeeded admirably.--> Andrew Hussie: "There was only one sure thing I knew when starting HS. That was that this thing would go batshit insane in ways I couldn't begin to imagine. In fact, it was practically the mission statement."[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* ''SonicForHire'' was already wacky to start with, yet as the story goes, it gets farther and farther into the wacky extreme.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' is one of the ''better'' executions of this trope, as the first season or two of the show, while not bad, was very grounded in a quite realistic premise... Quite unlike the 'anything goes' antics that made the ''whole'' show a pop-culture fixture [[LongRunner in later seasons]]. However, many viewers feel that as years dragged on, [[SeasonalRot this went on too far]], especially during the Mike Scully years, when this trope was allegedly used to death. Now the show has toned down the wackiness ''just a bit'' in attempt to return to its original roots.* The ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' cartoons started out as a fairly typical 'cat chases mouse' cartoon, which even in the early 1940's wasn't anything new. As time went on though, episodes began taking place [[RecycledInSpace in different time periods and settings]], and thanks to the influence Creator/TexAvery had on MGM's animation studio, the slapstick violence was cranked UpToEleven.** This of course coincided with Western Animation as a whole becoming Denser and Wackier in the 1940's, as cutesy cartoons starring WoodlandCreatures fell out of popularity, to be replaced by the ScrewySquirrel and the KarmicTrickster.* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' was a pretty exciting, relatively realistic "animated reality show". The second season takes place in a movie studio and every episode is a shout out to films with much cartoonier antics. The third season has the contestants flying around the world in a jet and is a musical. The fourth season takes place in the first island, but is now a radioactive waste deposit.** This trope is probably best exemplified by the way contestants are kicked off the show each season. In Season 1, a boat came to take the contestants off the island. In season 2, a broken-down limousine drove the contestants off the movie set. Season 3 had the contestants sky dive out of the jumbo jet they were flying in when voted off. In season 4, a giant catapult flung them off the island. And in Season 5? [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext They're flushed down a giant toilet.]]** One should also note the characterizations of certain characters as the show goes on. In the first two seasons, each character was mostly realistic, with some exaggerated teenage and reality show stereotypes to boot. Come season 4, and we've got Mike, a boy with multiple-personality syndrome who can turn into an old man, a treasure hunter, a Series/JerseyShore-esque bully, a ''female'' Russian gymnast, and [[SuperPoweredEvilSide an evil, chaotic supervillain]] in season 5. Let's just say, that's not even remotely how MPD works. ** This also goes to character injuries as well. In the first season, the worst injury sustained was that a contestant got mauled by a bear, though he recovered in the end. In Season 3, one contestant is engulfed in lava, leading him to become an {{Expy}} of [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]]. Another character, after being voted off, stows away on the plane, causing him to become feral with his skin becomes ghastly pale, eventually making him an {{Expy}} of [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]]. In Season 4, a contestant is exposed to radioactive material, causing her to become a giant, humanoid ''monster''. * ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' started out as a typical SliceOfLife series with a good balance of humor and drama. Once the show switched from cels to digital paint, the show put a bit more emphasis on comedy.* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': The characters became wackier when the show was revived, [[TookALevelInDumbass dumber]] and rather callous. The show as a whole becomes zanier and more like WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy.* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' went through this trope as it went on. It starts to become wackier after its transition from ''WesternAnimation/OhYeahCartoons'', then when the movies were cut down from 90 minutes to an hour, then when Poof arrives, and finally, with the addition of talking fairy-dog Sparky.* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', big time. The first few seasons were rather realistic in comparison to what it later became -- the only ''really'' crazy things happened in flashbacks. After the show was UnCancelled, however, the plots and the characters became wackier, zanier, [[TookALevelInDumbass dumber]], and quite [[TookALevelInJerkass mean spirited]] at times. ** Season 12 has taken this trait and amped it up to 11, to the point of where every scene is comedic. [[note]]Except for the 3 episodes where Brian is briefly killed off.[[/note]]* Disney cartoon adaptations are often this. ''WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa'' is a noticeable example, being random slapstick and goofy compared to the more realistic film.** Same goes for ''[[Disney/OneHundredAndOneDalmatians 101 Dalmatians: The Series]]''.* ''ComicStrip/TheBoondocks'' became this way starting with season 2. The show started out as an animated series with fairly realistic settings and events for the most part (much like ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill''). Once it entered its second season however, the characters became very {{flanderiz|ation}}ed, the story-lines zanier and far more outlandish, and the show as a whole much more cartoony and fast-paced (to the point where even the characters seem to be talking a mile a minute at times).* Originally, ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' was just a vulgar comedy, but by the time season 7 rolled around, the show went through a CerebusRollercoaster by having more dramatic moments once in a while. Season 13 was the only season where the show became wackier compared to the previous 6 seasons before it, with episodes such as Mickey Mouse (yes, really) using Music/TheJonasBrothers to shill purity rings to horny preteen girls, confusion over what real wrestling is like, Cartman's insane logic about ''TheSmurfs'' to get back at Wendy, and apocalypse at a water park involving pee.** Some TwoPartEpisode[=s=] tend to be rather serious, such as "Cartoon Wars". Ironically, the mostly serious 12th season had a Two Part Episode about ''giant guinea pigs'' attacking. [[MediumBlending And they are REAL guinea pigs dressed in cute costumes that were integrated with the animation]].* ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' is infamous for being this compared to the previous Franchise/SpiderMan [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries animated]] [[WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan incarnations]] of the character, and even compared to the comic character; while Spider-Man is known for being a [[DeadpanSnarker wise-cracking]] character prone for often pulling IShallTauntYou and YouFightLikeACow, his story included several serious, sometimes even dark storylines, with some of his villains being murderous creepy psychopaths. ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' removes or tones down most of the serious elements and extends Spider-Man's humor to NoFourthWall and cartoonish cutaway gags. Ironically enough, the ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' original comic which the series take its name from is known to be actually DarkerAndEdgier than the classic comic, even involving [[spoiler:Spider-Man's death.]]* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' went for this after the previous DarkerAndEdgier sequels ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' and ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' ended up being {{Base Breaker}}s. So far, this only ended up breaking the base even more than before.* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'' ended up as this with ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. ** ''Friendship is Magic'' itself grew denser and wackier as the series went onwards. Compare "Party of One", probably the zaniest episode of the more down-to-earth first season, with the season 4 MusicalEpisode "Pinkie's Pride" with [[Music/WeirdAlYankovic Weird Al]] as a pony named Cheese Sandwich - it's almost like watching a different show. Some gags in the latter episode wouldn't feel out of place on pre-movie ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''.** The wackiness continues in the Season 4 episode ''Testing, Testing 1,2,3''. Turns out there is ''[[HipHop hip]][[BigLippedAlligatorMoment -hop]]'' and ''[[SchizoTech 1980's VCR technology]]'' in Equestria. * ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' from its second season onward is noticeably wackier than the more laid-back first season.* ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo'' was this for the ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' franchise, not only featuring real monsters and supernatural powers, but also a lot more nonsensical cartoon gags and BreakingTheFourthWall.** ''WesternAnimation/APupNamedScoobyDoo'' is the wackiest thing related to the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise, with just about every character showing over-the-top, rubbery reactions, as well as turning Fred into a lunatic who believes in Bigfoot and always blames local bully Red Herring for being the MonsterOfTheWeek. Not surprising the animators went on to make ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}''.** ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'' straddles between this and DarkerAndEdgier. The show plays up and lampshades most of the franchise's typical elements, and shows how some of the villains can be really dangerous.* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' to the original ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans''. While the original show did have its silly moments and occasional wacky episode it also had very serious and even downright dark and terrifying episodes. The new show is purely comedic with even wackier situations and the characters have been redesigned into a simpler, more cartoonish style.* Happened in the later seasons of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', especially the U.S. Acres segments. [[GrowingTheBeard That was actually a good thing.]] The last three seasons were the funniest and the wackiest of the series. * ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTalesInTheHouse'', a spin-off series of ''WesternAnimation/{{VeggieTales}}'' is notably a lot more cartoony and slapsticky than the latter, most prominently for its wide use of cartoon sound effects.* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' is this in season 3 (and to a lesser extent, in season 2), despite said season having {{Wham Episode}}s that [[CerebusRollercoaster contrast well with it]]. There is the wild BizarroEpisode that is "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS3E35TheCountdown The Countdown]]", involving TimeTravel, reality warping, MediumAwareness (in contrast to the rest of the show), and a very strange plot that [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext makes just as much sense in context]]. "[[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS3E9TheGripes The Gripes]]" and [[Recap/TheAmazingWorldOfGumballS3E19TheProcrastinators The Procrastinators]]" are a few other strange episodes, especially when compared to the somewhat more realistic SliceOfLife episodes in season 1.* The short lived Slimer! And The Real Ghostbusters compared to the original ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'', while the original show had it's comedic moments some episodes were downright dark and scary, Slimer! on the other hand was purely comedic, the character designs were simplified, and most of the plots were about Slimer being assigned some task which led to wacky and cartoonish antics rather than catching ghosts.* The pilot episode of ''TheDreamstone'' was much more dark and actionized (if still cartoony) with a much greater sense of mortal peril for the heroes. The following episodes downplayed things into a [[HarmlessVillain Harmless]] {{Villain Protagonist}} series with the Urpneys with most episodes following their buffoonery or some EpicFail to take the title stone. In the final season the heroes started becoming more prone to slapstick and wise cracks as well (originally ''much'' tamer and down to earth than the Urpneys).[[/folder]]

[[folder:Other]]* TheEighties were more or less this compared to TheSeventies. TheNineties would then do the same thing to The Eighties.* WebAnimation/{{Benthelooney}} when his rants/reviews were UnCancelled. To begin with before the uncancelled seasons, Ben was a straight forward ranter that exaggerated how angry he was and added an occassional joke, but still focused on the subject of his rants. In the Uncancelled seasons, Ben took a Denser and Wackier approach which was a trait flanderized in the second run of Ben Rants to the point of where by 2013, his whole rants started to follow this formula and Ben creating two spin off videos of his other characters.* Taiwanese news outlet NMA got famous for doing relatively straight, 3D-animated re-enactions of events, such as Tiger Woods's car crash, the [=JetBlue=] flight attendant who opened up the emergency slide on the plane, and a cartoonish repesentation of the fight over TheTonightShow returning to Jay Leno. Nowadays, their videos are completely off-the-wall, have recurring gag characters such as a weed monster, two midget pilots named Sum Ting Wong and Wi Tu Lo (after an infamous incident where an intern gave fake, racist names to a news station regarding a fatal accident at San Francisco International Airport), and a mockery of ArkMusicFactory's "Chinese Food". Compare [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGfVB9kA5QQ this]] to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oqrUPkW77k this.]] It was enough to make an intern infamously quit the company (with an equally silly method: an interpretative dance explaining why she left).[[/folder]]----